The MediaCoach

Hi John,

It's holiday time, parliament is in recess, and many politicians have headed for a brief respite in some quiet resort, surrounded only by their security details and the odd photographer. However, these days news never sleeps. As often happens, the weather is the main topic under discussion on the front pages of the papers, with The Mirror proclaiming "Brits 118F Hol Hell". Yes, in the world of the tabloids, we never converted to Celsius. Besides "Brits 48C Hol Hell" doesn't sound nearly as good.

I don't know if you have been following the goings-on on Love Island. Don't worry, I have been watching it on your behalf. Dani and Jack walked away with the fifty thousand pounds first prize and agreed to share it. What a happy ending it was. And what reality show will grip the nation next? Well, my prediction is Evil Monkeys, an ITV2 show where stars of The Only Way is Essex are given electric shocks by actors dressed as apes. I'm not making any of this up. You heard it here first.

I had a chat on Twitter this week with comedian, author and raconteur Tony Hawks. It reminded me of the time when we chatted in the lovely surrounds of the cartoon museum in London. Hear our conversation in the Media Coach Web Radio Show. And there is also a superb tune from Nashville duo The Lost Hollow Band.
Go to the iTunes Archive of the MediaCoach Show
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The MediaMaestro award goes to the girl guiding group Brownies, which has launched an aviation badge as part of a brilliant campaign to encourage more women to become pilots. Pilot and former Brownie Kate McWilliams told reporters the plan was to "engage girls in a pilot career from an early age", adding it was a "fantastic" job. EasyJet - which is part of the campaign - wants 20% of its new entrant pilots to be female by 2020. The figure was 6% in September 2015, and 12% a year later. I wish them every success.

The MediaMug award goes to Rene Le Bail, producer of Vindigo, a new French wine. There's a clue in the name. It's blue. Yes really. Vindigo is an entirely natural white chardonnay that gets its distinctive turquoise hue after being passed through the pulp of red grape skins. Around 35,000 bottles of Vindigo are now on sale in the port city of Sete in the south of France for about 12 Euro (£10.70) a bottle. Monsieur Le Bail described the wine as being "ideal for the summer, to drink on the sand or at the edge of the swimming pool" in an interview with French newspaper Les Echos. So will that be red, white or blue with your meal? Hmmm.

IF YOU MUST USE POWERPOINT

By "Powerpoint" I mean any kind of presentation software, including Keynote and Prezi. I'm not going to get into the old Powerpoint debate here. We've had it before. If you'd like to hear it, just call me. Instead, allow me to offer a few tips on the use of "visuals" in general. By that I mean any type of picture, text or graph, however presented (If you want your visuals looked at, and improved by a real expert, contact my pal Lee Jackson)

OK, here are my thoughts on slides:

Do I ever use slides? Yes, occasionally I do, especially when working with audiences where English is not a first language. However, I use very few words, if any, on the slides. I have a second version of my slide deck, with much more text, that I upload to slideshare.net for later download if anyone wants a copy of the information.

Visuals, if used at all, are there to enhance your speech. In my opinion, the default position is not to use them (the reverse of most business presentations). I think there's a law of visuals, which I've just made up. Let's call it Stevens' Law: "The more important the speech, the less useful visuals will be"

HOW SHOULD I BEHAVE ON TV?

Here's my advice:
Be honest If you or your company has erred, come out with your hands up, and admit your error. Far better for you to be upfront than to be discovered "hiding the facts". Use the opportunity to explain what happened, show that you are dealing with the matter quickly and efficiently, and detail what steps you are taking to avoid a repeat occurrence. Most importantly, say how you will treat any of your customers who have suffered as a result. You should show both empathy and authority.

Be direct Don't beat around the bush or use jargon. Imagine that you are talking to a fairly bright 12 year-old. If you over-complicate things, your message will be lost.
Be fair Nobody likes to hear people rubbishing their competitors constantly. If you have a better product or service than your rivals, list its merits.

Be positive In any circumstance, it is possible to make a positive statement.
Be presentable Clearly, the way you look is going to be important for television interviews, and may even distract the viewer from hearing what you say. However, even on radio or in print, your appearance may affect the way in which a journalist treats you, and even whether they trust what you say.

Be aware There is no such thing as "off the record". Journalists hearing this phrase will immediately prick up their ears, and will often find a way of working your secret into their report.
Be prepared Make sure that everyone in your company knows how to handle a media enquiry, and that anyone who may be called on to talk directly to the media has been properly trained and briefed. And whatever you do, rehearse - otherwise you may end up like the senior executives at the press launch of a people carrier. As the gleaming vehicle was driven onto the stage in front of assembled motoring journalists, the executives within discovered that they didn't know how to operate the child-proof door locks. Of course, that sort of thing couldn't happen to you, could it?

SO WHAT DO YOU LIKE?

"Liking" a Facebook post is one way of indicating that you've found it interesting, even though you may be appalled by the content. Facebook has a few other emoticons you can apply too. But what about simply posting the things that you like? Maybe it's me (and I'm guilty of it too), but the majority of posts that I see seem to be complaining about something. It's as though people are defining themselves by what they don't like (a point made often by the great comedian Tim Minchin).

There's the issue of how you are being perceived by your Facebook friends. If they only ever see you complaining, or sharing shocking videos in order to make a point, they may decide to unfriend you. That renders your posts invisible to them in future, of course.

So why not try posting content that you like? It doesn't have to be pictures of rainbows or kittens (though if that's what you really like, go ahead), but might be a piece of music you love, a bit of sporting imagery, a great speech, or maybe even a blog you've written about great customer service.

I'm not advocating the "everything is wonderful" approach to life. I'm just suggesting that you take a look at your social media postings and think "am I being a bit too negative?". If you're not, well done. If you are, well, maybe it's time to tell us what you really like.

This link has been around a while, but has had a resurgence this week. Check out the work from a very clever bunch of designers who have subverted the signs on the tube.

You just need a little preparation.

The information in this ezine may be freely re-used in any online or offline publication, provided it is accompanied by the following credit line - "This information was written by Alan Stevens, and originally appeared in "The MediaCoach", his free weekly ezine, available at www.mediacoach.co.uk."